Winding machine



w1ND1NG`MAcH1NE Filed Aug. 17, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet l 1 E. R. SwANsoN A2,021,031

WINDING MACHINEv Filed Aug. 17, 1932 4 sheets-sheer 2 Nov. 12, 1935.

F IIIIL l Y \H .W

:Ilm HW .I ..l/ Q al Alun" r/ ,A

m ...ww @www Slg Nov. 12, 1935. E. R. swANsoN wNDING MACHINE:

Filled Aug. 17, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheen 5 MMI ,..mwl

,0, 1 D ,N www Nov. 12, 1935. EJR. swANsoN v `WINDING MACHINE Filed Aug.17, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 12, 1.93.5

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,021,031 l WINDING MACHINE Ernest R.Swanson, Cranston, R. I., assigner to Universal Winding Company, Boston,Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application yAugust 17, 1932,Serial No. 629,229

26 Claims. (Cl. 242-355) This invention relates to improvements inwinding machines for winding cops, cones, cheeses and other lforms ofpackages of yarn, thread, cord or like strand material, hereinafterreferred to generally by the term yarn; and particularly to windingmachines wherein the package is driven by peripheral contact with adrive-roll o-r drum. Morespecifically, the invention relates to amachine of the traveling type in which a plurality of Winding units aremounted upon a revolvable table or annulus and arranged to travel past afixed point hereinafter designated theoperators station.

One objectof the invention is to provide'a winding machine of the typespecified wherein the winding units are carried upon a horizontal ringor annulus caused to revolve about a vertical axis whereby tosuccessively present the unitsto the operator for dolling the completedcops or packages and replacing them with empty coptubes, and forrepleni'shing depleted supplyb'obbins with full ones.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the typespecified wherein the cops or packages are rotated by frictional contactwith drive-rolls or drums and arranged with their supporting spindles-extending radially with respect to the axis of the revolving annulus todirect the ends of the package outwardly lwhereby to facilitate theoperation of doflng the packages and the tying-up of the ends from thefresh 'supplies Another object of the invention is to provide a machineof the type specied wherein the inr dividual operating mechanisms ofwinding units are driven from a common source of power without theintervention of complicated gearing.

vAnother object of the invention is to provide a machine of the typespecified having a'siinplied mechanism 'incorporated in the drivingmeans which` operates to disrupt the synchronism between the rotatingpackages being vwound and the traversing means, whereby to control thedisposition. of the turns of winding on the surface of the packages toprevent the formation of bands or ribbons in which the yarn coils arecrowded cr "piled. A

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the typespecified which is highly automatic in operation to require littleattention on the part of the operator except for replenishing thesupply-bobbins and doiling the wound packages.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lmachine of the typespecified having means for automatically arresting the .windingoperation of each individual unit when the yarn breaks or its supply isexhausted and also upon completion of the package to the required size.

Further objects of the improvement are set forth in the followingspecification which describes a preferred form of construction of theinvention, by way of example, as illustrated by the accompanyingdrawings. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the improved Winding 10 machine on a greatlyreduced scale;

Fig.r 2 is a plan view' in larger scale of a portion of the windingmachine illustrated in Fig. 1, showing several of the winding units andthe drive therefor; 15

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same, showing three of the windingunits as operative and one of the units as inoperative; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View of a portion of the machine taken online 4-4 of Fig. 3. 20

The present improved winding machine comprises, in general, a circularrail or trackway supported on columns or stanchions; an annulusrevolvable on the trackway for traveling a plurality of winding head orunits in a closed course; driv- 25 ing means for revolving the annuluson the track= way; a unitary driving means for operating the individualwinding mechanisms during their travel around the trackway; meansincorporated in the last-named driving means for effecting a 30 periodicalteration in the speed of one of the winding elements; and automaticstopping mechanism for controlling the operation of the individualwinding units.

Referring to lthe drawings, the improved wind- 35 ing machine as hereinshown embodies a unitsupporting annulus or ring 2 which is preferably ofinverted channel-shape in cross section, see Fig. 4, and supported torevolve upon a circular rail or trackway 3. The rail 3- has over- 40hanging side lugs 4 resting upon the upper end of columns or stanchions5 which may be constituted by lengths of piping mounted for verticaladjustment in feet or bases 6 secured to the oor. The rail 3 is ofangular shape in cross section 45 with its horizontal flange providedwith a linished face 1 lupon which the annulus 2 is revolvablymounted'by means of rollers I4 to be later described. The verticalilange o1' the angular fastened to the rail by nuts 9. Preferably, therail-member or trackway 3 and the annulus y2 are constituted by aplurality of arcuate sections bolted together at l0 and Il,respectively, as 55 2 shown in Fig. 2, to adapt them for economicalmanufacture and convenient assembly.

Journaled in bosses orv bearings i2 formed integral with the outerflange of the channeliron annulus2 are stud-shafts or axles I3 carry--ing the rollers or traction wheel's I4 which travel upon the finishedupper face 1 of the trackway 3 when the annulus is revolved in themanner as later explained. The annulus 2 is formed on its inner flangewith a plurality of bosses or lugs I6 to which is attached, by means ofbolts l1, a ring-gear upper face.

The driving means for revolving the annulus 2 is preferably positionedwithin the circumference of the latter and may comprise an electricmotor, such as shown at 20, arrangedV for vertical adjustment upon a bedor platform 2l. As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the platform 2 isconstructed in the form of a rectangular plate supported from the floorby bolted thereto. Referring to Fig. 2, the armature-shaft of the motor20 is connected by means of a coupling 23 to the end of a stud-shaft 24forming one of the rotative elements of a speedreducing mechanism,indicated generally by the reference character 25. The speed-reducingmechanism may be of conventional type and therefore will not be hereindescribed in detail. Suffice it to state that a pinion 26 fast on theshaft 24 meshes with a larger gear 21 fixedly secured to a shaft 28,both shafts being journaled inbearings on the sides of a covered box orcasing 29. The shaft 28 carries at its forward end a pinion-gear 30, theteeth of which mesh with the teeth of the ring-gear I8 previouslymentioned. It will be understood that when vthe electric motor 20 isoperative power will be transmitted therefrom to the shaft 28 throughthe gears 24 and 21 and the pinion-gear 30 meshing with the ring-gear I8will revolve the annulus 2 at a greatly reduced rate of speed. Anysuitable electric switch, for example, of the push-button type, may beprovided for controlling the starting and stopping of the motorandthereby the turning movement of the annulus 2.

The winding units orheads, designated generally by the referencecharacter 35, are removibly mounted upon the annulus 2 to be traveledthereby past the operators station. Any suitable type of winding unitmay be mounted on the revolving bed or annulus 2, the mechanism hereinillustrated by Way of example being similar in construction to thatshown and described in my pending application for United States LettersPatent, Serial No. 447,588, filed April 26, 1930, now Patent No.1,895,741, issued Jan. 3l, 1933. As shown most clearly in Figs. 2 and 4of the present drawings, each winding unit 35 is mounted on a bracket orstandard 36 detachably fastened to the upper face of the annulus 2 bymeans of bolts 31. An outboard bearing member 39 is positioned outwardlywith respect to the bracket 36, being supported in spaced parallelrelation thereto by means of tie-rods or spacer-studs 40. The members 36and 39 carryl the bearings for the driving shaft and also support theother parts of the winding mechanism.

In the present construction of the machine each windingY unit comprisesonly two principal operating elements, namely, the winding-mandrel orspindle 43 on which the cop-tube C or other core for the package isrotatably supported and the drive-roll 45 for rotating the yarnreceiver;Vand in which is embodied the means I8 having rack-teeth cut in its legsor standards 22' for traversing the y rn back and forth axially of thepackage being wound. vIn this form of construction the usualreciprocating threadguide is dispensed with and the drive-roll 45 hasits peripheral surface provided with4 connected 5 i helical grooves 46and 41 extending in opposite directions and adapted to receive thestrand of yarn to guide it back and forth between the ends of thepackage. This particular form of traversing means is shown and describedin United l0 States Letters Patent No. 1,749,355 dated. March 4, 193i).It is to be understood, however, that various other types of windingmechanisms may be employed as units on the revolvable annulus 2, suchfor example, as that wherein the packl5 age is driven by contact with `adrive-roll and the yarn traversed by means of a reciprocatingthread-guide.

In the present formy of construction the driveroll 45 is carried on androtated by a horizontal 20 shaft 48 journaled in bearings 49 and 58supported by the members 36 and 39.' Fast on the inner end of the shaft48 abutting the side of the bearing 49 is a pulley or drive-wheel 5|adapted to be rotated by peripheral contact with a friction drive-ring52 which is revolved'about the axis of the machine in the manner aslater more fully explained.

The winding units of the machineare herein shown as adapted for windingpackages P of 3o conical form in which the yarn is built up on an axialcore or support, for example, a paper or fiber cone-tube C illustratedin Fig. 4 as rotatively mounted on the winding-spindle or mandrel 43 bymeans of a cop-tube holder 44. The 35 winding-spindle 43 is xedlyconnected at its inner end to the forked end of an arm or rod 53, theopposite end of which is swiveled in a bearing 54 on a Y-shaped arm orlever 55. The arm 55 is hinged on a rod 56 held in a bearing 51 4 0projecting from the top of the bracket 36 of the next adjacent windingunit in the series. The arm 55 is usually weighted whereby to cause thesurface of the yarn-receiver or cop-tube C, or the surface of thepackage A common driving member for the whole series 50.

of winding units drives the individual shafts. 48 through means as nextdescribed. As above explained, the shafts 48 are adapted to be rotatedin their bearings by the traction engagement of their puleys or wheels58 `With the lower face 55 of the drive-ring or friction annulus 52. Thedrive-ring 52 rests upon and is supported solely by the pulleys 50,being held'to its circular orbit by means of flanges or rims 58 on thepulleys engaging its outer edge or rim, see Fig. 4. Theil() bottom face'of the ring 52, which constitutes the' driving surface engaging withthe pulleysfmay be coated with a suitable friction material forproviding the maximum traction. Spaced at' intervals along the bottomdriving surface friction-ring 52 are a series of gaps or recesses 59provided for a purpose as later explained.

In operation, the winding units are traveledabout the axis of themachine in a contraclock- Wise direction as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2. Ifthe 70 P, as the case 45 Amay be, to be held in Vdriving contact withthe of the 65 of revolution of the increased. The

the surface of the winding units themselves, the friction drivering 52is turned clockwise, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, or in a directionopposite to the direction annular bed or support 2 for the'units. .Thespeed of rotation of the driverolls is thus greatly multiplied and theproductiveness of the winding mechanism accordingly .means for turningthe friction drive-ring 52 is organized and arranged 'as next described.y

The drive-ring 52 is provided on its top with teeth and meshingtherewith is a pinion 60 fast on the armature-shaft of a secondelectricmotor -GL ably supported upon the As shown in Fig. 4, the motor6l is adjustplatform 2|, previously described, with its axis arrangedradially with respect to the axis of the ring 52. The starting andstopping of the motor BI may be effected by controlling mechanism asusually provided.

Means are providedvin the present improved winding machineI fordisrupting the synchrony of motion between the rotating package and thetraverse mechanism for the yarn, such a device being known as aribbon-breaker? for controlling the disposition-of the turns of windingon of the package to prevent the coils of yarn from crowding or piling.As is well known to those versed in the art of drum winding, when thecop-tube or other yarn-receiver is rst started to rotate to wind on theyarn the coils are usually laid in .open or spaced relationship; butwhen the wind changes due to the constantly increasing diameter of thepackage, the coils gradually close up and eventually tend to crowd orpile on each other to cause what is termed a ribbon Wind on the surfaceof the package. Where several coils-are laid over each other in theribbon they tend to slip orv slide out of place, thus disturbing thetwist of the yarn to such an extent that its quality is impaired and,yarn from in addition,`the free delivery of the the package is hampered.I n order to overcome this defect in the winding operation the presentinvention contemplates the provision of mea-ns incorporated in thedrive-ring/52 for periodically altering the speed of rotation of eachdrive-roll t5 to disrupt the synchronism between the package and thetraversing yarn. y

As before mentioned, the friction-ring 52 is provided 'with a series ofgaps or recesses. 59in its driving face spaced at intervals round itscircumference, see Fig. 3.- During operation of the machine the pulleys50 contact with and are rotated by the bottom face of the ring 52 in thethe recesses v.'59 come successively into opposition portion 59 iscarnumber is arbitrary more engages the lower face of the ring andriedpast the pulley .5| sc that the latter once its speed is acceleratedto the maximum again. As` shown in Fig. 3, the ring 52 is provided witha recess' 59 for each and may vary according to requirements. l

The yarn is supplied to the winding units from bobbins b held onspindles 63 located beneath and slightly in advance of thevwindingspindles. An 10 armor bracket 64 is secured lto the tie-rods 49 Voi'each unit and reaching downwardlyv therefrom its lower extremitysupports the/supply-spindle 63 pivoted theretdsee Figs. 3 and 4. 'I'heyarn y is drawn upwardly through a suitable tensiondevice, indicatedgenerally by the reference charinthe speed of the drive-roll is ofgizing the electric acter 6.5, across a stationary guide 68 and amovable bail-wire 56 which forms a part of the stopping mechanism of theWinding unit. The baillower end of which is normally held raised abovethe path of a series of stationary cam-plates 'Il secured to the forwardrim of the rail or track- 30 way 3 by means of screws '12.

The knock-off lever The member a bar 14, termed which is attached at 'i5to n.45

69 has a ratchet connection with the sizing bar,

sizing bar 'I4 reaches a predetermined size; but as this part of themachine is substantially identical with 60 that disclosed in the abovementioned application 1t is unnecessary to describe it in detail.

position with thepackage held in drivingcontact with the periphery ofthe drive-roll. The method ofloperation of the complete winding machineis as next explained.

Ihe machine is started to operate by enerthe means of a switch prswitches, not herein shown. The motori 6|, through its geared connectionwith the friction-ring 52, revolves the ve winding units.. but this 5motors 20 andV BI through l f latter in a clockwise direction as viewedin Figs. 1 and 2, and the pulleys or wheels 5I are driven by rollingcontact therewith to rotate the driverolls 45. The motor 20 which isconnected through. the reducing gearing 25 to the ring-gear I8.revolvesthe latter in the opposite direction to travel the winding units' around.the machine. With the dual arrangement' of motors as above describedthe winding units are caused to travel around the machine at a slow rateof speed with the drive-rolls 45 turning at high speed to perform thewinding on the cop-tubes C rotated therefrom. When n breaks or itssupply is ehausted, or upon completion of the package, the operation ofthis unit is immediately arrested by the automatic stopping mechanism.Then, as the nonfunctioning unit is brought around past the operatorsstation, the break in the yarn is repaired, a new bobbin supplied ifnecessary, or the completed package `doiied and a fresh one started, asthe case may be. The operator may take up a position at any desiredpoint around the circumference of the machine, this point at X inFig. 1. The operator is usually provided with a suitable seat andfurnished with a supply hopper for holding the full supply-bobbins, abox for receiving the spent bobbinsvand a rack upon which thewoundpackages are stacked.

Each unit or head is prepared for winding by mounting a wooden or bercop-tube or yarnreceiver C to rotate on the spindle 43 while the latteris held in raised position as shown at the left in Fig. 3. The materialis led upwardly from its source of supply b through the'tension-device65, thence drawn across the guide 68 and bail-wire 66 to the peripheryof the drive-roll 45 and itsvend fastened to the cop-tube C. After thestrand is secured to the cop-tube the operator lifts the starting handle16 and the arm 55 is lowered. to bring the surface of( the receiver Cinto driving contact with the periphery of the drive-roll 45.

' As the yarn-receiver CY is brought into periphleral contact with thedrive-roll 45 it will be rotated from the roll to wind on the yarn. Theroll 45 turns in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3 and asthe yarn is taken up by the rotation of the cop-tube C the strand y willenter one or the other of the crossing hellcall grooves 46 and 41 on theperiphery of the roll. As the yarn feeds through the grooves it istraversed thereby back and forth longitudinally of the cop-tube todeposit it thereon in helical coils which make several turns rst in onedirection and then in the opposite direction from end to end of thepackage being wound. In this way the yarn is given a continuous traversefrom one end of the cop-tube to the other end and back again to build upa succession of courses forming overlying layers which constitute orpackage P.

As above explained, the drive-roll 45 is rotated by frictional contactAof the pulleyI 5| with the drive-ring 52 and as the latter revolvestherecessed portions or. gaps 59 therein serve' to periodicallyinterrupt the driving contact. As the speed of the drive-roll isretarded the momentum of' the package will cause it to run ahead 'withits surface slipping on the roll and in this manner the synchrony ofymotion between the package and the roll, which latter constitutes thetraversing means, is disrupted. By thus periodically changing the ratioof speed between the rotation of the 'package and the traverse of beingindicated strand of yarn y or other the yarn body the yarn ribbonwinding is prevented in the same manner as described in my pendingappliplication for United States Letters Patent, Serial filed' Julvy121,- 1931, now- Patent No. 1,899,651, issued Feb. 28, 1933.

The operator starts each indvidual winding unit asthe latter aresuccessively carried to the station X. Sufficient time is allowed as theunit slowly passes the station to enable the operator to replenish thesupply and tie up the end; or to deff a full package and on the holderwhen required. The winding units are continuously'traveled in a closedcourse in the manner explained and after the last unit in the series hasbeen started the `initially started unit again reaches the station X.`Preferably, the rate of travel of the unit's is so timed that the yarnwill be consumed from one supply bobbin during each .course of the unitaround the machine. The exhaustion of the supply occurs just place a newcop-tube prior to the arrival of the unit at the Astation and thestopping mechanism acts to raise the package away from the periphery ofthe driveroll 45 to arrest the winding operation. Following the stoppingof the winding mechanism the unit enters the station X and the operatorplaces a fresh sup ly-bobbin b on the spindle B3 and ties its end to thestrand already wound into the package and starts the winding operationagain. This is' accomplished by the simple act of raising the startinghandle 1B to lower the package'into peripheral contact with thedriveroll 45. It will be understood that a plurality of the cam-plates'Il are arranged about the raif 3 at short intervals to provide that ifthe 35 yarn breaks at any point during the travel of a unit Vthe windingoperation thereof will be promptly arrested. When the packages arecompleted they are doffed and the units prepared and started to operateagain in the manner as previously explained.

It will be observed from the' foregoing that the present inventionprovides a highly elciet means for traveling a series of winding unitsin a closed course to successively present themto an operator fortending at a fixed station. The operator may thus sit comfortably .atthe station and'perform the necessary operations with a minimum ofexertion, thus reducing fatigue andr greatly increasing the productivecapacity of the machine. By the saving of time usually required forwalking up and down along the machinev frame the operator may attend agreater number of units with a further increase in eciency.

The winding units are detachably mounted upon the revolvable annulus sothat theymay be removed therefrom for repair or replacement withoutnecessitating interruption in the operation of other units in the seriesfor any considerable period. Y

The machine is extremely simple in construction, adapted for easyassembly of the parts and practically proof against derangement orgetting out of order.

While I have herein disclosed a preferred form of construction of themachine, various modications may be, made in the structure andarrangement of its parts without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe present invention. Therefore, without limiting myself to the exactembodiment shown and described, I claim:

` 1. In a windingmachine, the combination of a vcircular trackway, anannulus revolvable on the trackway, a plurality of winding units mountedon the annulus and comprising means for rotatably supporting a packageon each unit, a drive-ring arranged concentric with the annulus, shaftsjournaled on the annulus, drive-rolls' driven from said shafts forrotating the packages, and means on said shafts engaging the Vdrive-ringto support the latter and rotate the drive-rolls ofthe Winding unitsduring their travel with the annulus.

2. In a winding machine, the combination of a circular trackway, aplurality of winding units, means for rotatably supporting a package oneach winding unit, means for traveling the wind-I ing units on thetrackway, drive-rolls for driving the packages of the individual windingunits, a drive-ring arranged concentric with the trackway, meansconnected with the drive-rolls and engaging the drive-ring to supportthe latter and rotate the rolls, and means forA revolving the drive-ringin a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the winding units.

3. In a Winding machine, the combination of a circulartrackway, anannulus revolvable on the trackway, a plurality of winding units mountedon the annulus, shafts journaled on the annulus, drive-rolls on saidshafts, means for rotatably supporting packages in driving contact withthe rolls, pulleys on'said shafts, and a drivering supported on 'thepulleys concentric with the annulus andengaging vthe peripheries of thepulleys to drive the shafts.

4. In a -winding machine, the combination of a circular 'trackway, anannulus revolvable on the trackway, a plurality of winding units mountedon the annulus, means on each unit for rotatably supporting a package,shafts journaled on the annulus, drive-rolls on said shaft for drivingthe packages, a drive-ring supported from said shafts concentric withthe annulus, means on the shafts engaging the drive-ring, and means' torevolve the drive-ring in a direction opposite to the direction ofrevolution of the annulus.

5. In a winding machine, the combination of a circular ytrackway, anannulus rovolvable on the trackway, means for revolving the annulus, apluralityv of Winding units mounted on the annulus to be traveledthereby in a closed course, means on each unit for rotatably supportinga package, drive-shafts for the winding units, drive-rolls driven fromsaid shafts, pulleys on said shafts, a friction drive-ring resting onthe pulleys concentric with the annulus to effect driving contact withthe peripheries of the pulleyS, and .means to revolve the drive-ring ina direction opposite to the direction of revolution of the annulus.

6. In a Winding machine, the combination of an annular trackway, anannulus revolvable on the trackway, means to revolve the annulus, aplurality of Windinggunits carried on the annulus to be traveled in aclosed course, shafts for driving the Winding units, pulleys on saidshafts, a drivering arranged concentric with the annulus and supportedon the pulleys to provide frictional contact with their peripheries, andmeans for revolving the drive-ring in a direction opposite to thedirection of travel of the winding units.

'7. In a Winding machine, the combination of a circular trackway, anannulus revolvable on said trackway, ar annular gear-rack carried on theannulus, a` pinion engaging the gear-rack, a motor for drivingthe pinionto revolve the annulus, shafts for operating the winding units, pulleyson -said shafts, a friction drive-ring arranged concentric with theannulus in engagement with the peripheries of the pulleys and providedwith gearteeth, a pinion engaging the gear-teeth on the drive-ring, anda motor for driving said pinion to revolve the drive-ring in a directionopposite to the direction of movement of the annulus. 5

8. In a winding machine, the combination of an annular trackway, anannulus mounted above the trackway, rollers between the annulus and thetrackway, a plurality of winding units mounted on the annulus, agear-rack on the annulus, 10

a pinion engaging the teethof the rack, a motor l for driving thepinion, shafts journaled on the annulus for operating the winding units,a drivevringfor rotating the shafts, and means to revolve Y thedrive-'ring in a direction opposite to the direc-` 15 tion of movementof the annulus.' 9. In a winding machine, the combination of a circulartrackway, stanchions for supporting said trackway from the floor, anannulus `revolvable on the trackway, a; motor, gearing connectingsaid'go motor to revolve the annulus on thetrackway, a plurality ofwinding units carried on the annulus, shafts for driving the Windingunits, an annular drive-ring arranged concentric with the annulus andconnected to drive the shafts for the wind- 25 ing units, anda secondmotor for revolving the drive-ring in a vdirection opposite to thedirection of movement of the annulus. I

10. In a winding machine, the combination of a circular trackway, anannulus revolvable on 3o the trackway, a motor, gearing connecting themotor to revolve the annulus, a plurality of Winding umts carried by theannulus, shafts journaled on the annulus fordriving the winding units, adrive-'ring for driving said shafts, a sec- 35 ond motor, and gearingconnecting the second motor to revolve the drive-ring.

11. In a winding machine, the combination of a circular trackway, aplurality of winding units, means for traveling the winding units in aclosed 40 course on the trackway, a shaft for each winding unit,drive-rolls driven by said shafts, means for supporting packages insurface contact with the drive-rolls, a drivering supported on theshafts of the Winding units concentric with the trackway, 45 and meansengaging the drive-ring to rotate the drive-shafts.

' 12. In a winding machine, the combination of a plurality of winding.units, means fortraveling said units in a closed course, a drive-rollfor each 50 unit, individual driving means for each driveroll, anannular drive-ring common to all of said units and supported solely fromthe driving means thereof to..rotate the drive-rolls, and means torevolve said drive-ring in a direction opposite to 55 the direction oftravel of the units. 13. In a Windingjmachine, the combination of aplurality-of Winding units, means for traveling said units in a closedcourse, separate driving means for the individual'units, a drive-ringen- 60 gaging said driving means, means to revolve said ring to drivethe driving means for the units, and means to periodically interrupt thedrive between the ring and the unit-driving means to disrupt thesynchronism of the. drive. Y y65 14, In a winding machine, thecombination of' a plurality of winding units, means to travel saidwinding units in a closed course, individual driving shafts for theunits, a drive-ring common to all of the units, and means on the drivingshafts 70 engaging the drive-ring to operate the units, said drive-ringhaving gaps therein spaced at intervals of its circumference whereby tointerrupt the driving `connection with the shafts to cause a periodicdeceleration in the speed of the shafts. A 75 3o gagement with the wheelto periodically valter the 15. In a winding machine, the combination ofmeans for rotatably supporting a package, a drive-roll for rotating thepackage by peripheral contact therewith, a shaft for rotating thedriveroll, and a drive-element engaging the driving means on the shaft,said drive-element having a plurality of spaced gaps for interruptingthe drivshaft and the traverse mechanism operated thereby.

17. In a winding machine, the combination of means for rotatablysupporting a package, a drive-roll for rotating'the package, means fortraversing yarn on the package, a driving shaft, a driving wheel on saidshaft, and a drive-element engaging the wheel to rotate the shaft, saiddriveelement provided with `a plurality of gaps in its drivingfacepwhereby to interrupt its driving enrate of speed of the drivingshaft.

18. In a winding machine, the combination of 'means for rotatablysupporting a yam-package,

a drive-roll for rotating the package by peripheral contact therewith,and means to drive the drive-roll, said driving means having a pluralityof gaps in its driving surface whereby to interrupt the drive toperiodically alter the speed of the drive-roll to disrupt thesynchronism between the package and its traversing means.

19. In a winding machine, the combination of means for rotatablysupporting a yam-package, a grooved traverse-roll for rotating thepackage by contact with they periphery thereof while acting to traversethe yarn -longitudinally thereon, and

means to drive the traverse-roll, said means having an interrupteddrivingface `formed with gaps to produce changes in ratio between thespeed of the package and the traverse of the yarn to prevent ribbonwinding.

20. In a winding machine, the combination of means for rotatablysupporting. a yarn-package, a drive-roll for rotating the package byperipheral contact therewith, means for traversing yarn on the package,a driving element, and means engaging the driving element to impartrotation to the drive-roll, said driving means having gaps in one of thedriving facesl to periodically interrupt the driving contact whereby tochange the ratio between the speed of the package and the traverse ofthe yarn to prevent ribbonwinding.

21. In a winding machine, the combination of I an annular trackway, anannulus supported from thetrackway to revolve therearound, a pluralityof winding units carried on the annulus, means on each Winding unit forsupporting and driving 5 a package, shafts for said package-drivingmeans, a drive-ring arranged concentrically with the annulus andsupported from the drive-shafts, and power means for revolving theannulus and drive-ringin opposite directions. l0

22. In a winding machine, the combination of an annular trackway, anannulus revolvable on said trackway, means for revolving said annulus,

va drive-ring arranged concentric with and supported from the, annulus,winding units carried 15 by the annulus', a drive-shaft for operatingeach winding unit, means connecting the drive-ring to rotate the shafts,and power means for revolving the annulus and drive-ring in oppositedirections on the trackway. 20 23. In a'winding machine, the combinationof a plurality of winding units, a drive-roll for each winding unit,means for rotatably supporting a package in contact with eachdrive-roll, means for traveling the winding units in a closed circuit,25 means for driving the drive-rolls, and means to periodicallyinterrupt the connection between the driving means and drive-rollsduring the travel of the winding units to vary the speed of thedrive-rolls to prevent ribbon winding.

24. In a winding machine, the combination of a plurality of windingunits each comprising a drive-roll and means for supporting a package indriving contact with the roll, means for traveling said units in aclosed circuit, and driving means l ,ior transmitting rotation to thedrive-rolls, said driving meansv having gaps to interrupt the drivingconnection to periodically vary the speed of the drive-rolls whereby toprevent ribbon wind- A ing.

for traversing yarn on the package, means for traveling said units in acertain direction in a closed circuit, driving means traveling in theopposite direction in the circuit and operating to transmit rotationtothe drive-rolls, and means to periodically interrupt the connectionbetween the driving means and drive-rolls to vary the speed of thelatter whereby to prevent ribbon winding..

26. In a winding machine, the combination of a plurality of windingunits, means to travel said units in a closed circuit, means for drivingthe winding units during their travel, and means to periodicallyinterrupt vthe driving connection to vary the winding speed to preventribbon winding.

ERNEST R. SWANSON.

